Portal of the Present
by ShadeBlade
Summary: Sequel to The Fated Future: When Future April is pulled through the Kraang portal, she finds herself back in the past. She reunites with her friends and family and is overjoyed to be close to them once more...But will she want to return to her timeline in the end? Disclaimer: I own nothing. 2k12 version. Rated T for violence and dark-themes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thank you for the lovely words on the previous story: The Fated Future ^^ Here's the first chapter of the sequel to it; this story is going to be focused completely on Future April and her reuniting with her younger-self and friends from the past (with exceptions to this chapter). Thanks again! :D **

* * *

April stepped out over the broken shards of glass and climbed back outside from the shattered window and ran through the empty streets. She kept on running until she spotted three shadows in the lamplight, recognising the shapes of the shadows immediately as she followed them, hearing the voice of a much-younger Leonardo above her as she watched from from another alleyway.

"The city is usually crawling with Kraang every night," Leo muttered, peering over another rooftop that looked down on several warehouses. "The time where we need one to show up, they're nowhere to be found! Typical!"

"Chill, Leo," Mikey said, running up behind him. "We'll find some soon, I know it."

Future April walked slowly towards the street, the hood darkening her identity as she saw the younger April suddenly turn and start slightly at the sight of a hooded figure watching them.

"Uh, guys..." April called, causing the three turtles to turn around and look at her as she pointed down at one of the lamp-lit streets. Leo, Mikey and Raph looked down at the older April, who laughed quietly at their surprised expressions. She then sighed, turning away from them and running away, she wanted nothing more than to speak to them but now that she knew they existed, she could see them at the lair.

She grew worried as she heard Raphael yell from the background; "Go after it!" which caused her to run faster as she didn't want to be caught yet. As she hid behind a collection of rubbish tips and cardboard boxes, she grew excited over the chance to see Master Splinter and Casey Jones again.

* * *

Shredder's blade stabbed into the arms of his throne as he growled angrily under his breath. Rahzar had bandages over his arms, legs and stomach as he cowered by the steps that lead up the throne.

"You are lucky, Bradford," Shredder hissed threateningly. "When Xever failed me; he lost one of his eyes, do **not** tempt me into doing the same. If you fail me again; I'll finish you off myself."

"Of course, Master," the mutant whispered, bowing his head in fear. "I will not fail you again."

"I don't want you to return," Shredder ordered, walking to the windows and staring down at the city. "At least, not until you bring me the younger Donatello."

"But, Master Shredder! For all we know the turtle could be dead!" Rahzar protested, keeping his eyes on the ground. "What do I do then?"

"Hope," the Shredder said lowly, his anger rising at he stared down at Rahzar. "_Hope_ that he is alive because if he's dead because of your idiocy; I'll have your head, Bradford.

"Besides, if he truly passed during the fight, we'd have three furious turtles trying to get revenge on my doorstep now. Do whatever you want to the other three but no harm comes to the younger turtle, am I clear?"


	2. Chapter 2

April walked through the long alley, her thick leather boots splashing small puddles of water along the cracked and dirty pavement. She breathed out, the cold evening air formed a mist around her as she stepped out into another street, continuing to walk until she stopped in front of a familiar apartment block.

Her expression softened as she saw a light switch on and show an outline of a man walking around the room. "Dad..." she whispered, her lip trembling slightly as she forced herself to walk on, before he noticed her outside.

Before she turned a corner, the sound of two people walking came from the other side, causing April to press herself against the building. "I told you to keep your cardigan on," came a sweet but firm voice as an elderly woman came into view, holding the hand of a small girl who looked about six years old.

She had medium-length black hair, a playful expression on her face and wore a black top with a lilac skirt with thick winter-tights and tiny black patent shoes, along with a lilac knitted cardigan that she was fidgeting around in.

"It's_ itchy_, granny!" the young girl compained, wiggling her free hand out of the sleeve, causing the elderly lady to tut and bend down to straighten up the girl.

"Come now," she said, chuckling as the young girl stuck her bottom lip out stubbornly. "Don't be so fussy, Angel."

_Angel_! _Of course_; _she used to live around this area_...April thought to herself, quickly covering her mouth with both hands to muffle a loud gasp. She closed her eyes and felt an all-too-familiar lump in her throat, refusing to go away. She needed to leave right away as the sound and sight of the two hurt her; Angel wouldn't know who April was yet and it upset April to see Angel so carefree and...alive.

April knew she'd have to go right now or she'd find herself following Angel and her grandmother. She desperately wanted to speak to Angel...She wanted to warn her of the future she'd be forced to live in...

_I'm sorry_

She sprinted away, the bottom fabric of her long cloak flew behind her as she ran as fast as she could, heading straight for the alley that lead to the sewers where she would be able to see her past-family.

She knelt down and pushed the manhole, shoving it away as she climbed down the ladder that lead to the sewers underneath the city; making sure to cover the hole again before she jumped down to the floor.

She soon found the familiar railtrack and smiled to herself as she walked along the splintered wood and rusted metal tracks that lead to the turtles' lair. Her heart began to beat fast as she approached the turnstiles but before she could step out-

"**DONNIE**!" was suddenly screamed, causing April to freeze as she heard the sound of several footsteps running. _Donatello_? April thought, her mind trying to work out what exactly was going on.

She peered around and watched with an overjoyed expression as Master Splinter walked out from Leo's room, his hand placed on a younger Leonardo's shoulder as he gently lead him to the sofa, younger Raphael and Michelangelo following behind them anxiously.

Casey and a younger-version of herself who had previously been watching some anime-show on the television, both stood up as Master Splinter and the turtles sat themselves down on the sofa. Future April winced a little, feeling a small pain in her head; noticing her younger-self touch her head gently from the sofa, Casey glancing at her in concern.

April took her chance and stepped out, walking through the turnstiles and standing at the top of the steps, her hood shadowing her entire face as she watched as everybody turned and looked at her with looks of shock and worry covering their faces.

The sight of them all caused the older April's eyes to water, her happiness soon changing a little to sadness as Donatello wasn't there with them; being trapped in her timeline. Tears ran down her face and she made now effort to stop them.

"It's so good to see you guys..." she said, loud enough for them to hear. She shakily grabbed her hood and pulled it down, letting it fall down to her shoulder as she smiled in pure happiness at them with a tear-stained face. "It's been a long time."


	3. Chapter 3

Younger April stood with her mouth open in complete shock, Casey pressed his hands on her shoulders quickly as she took a shaky step back. "Wh-What is this?" she mumbled, leaning against Casey.

"She's like an older April, guys!" Mikey suddenly announced, jumping over the sofa and rushing in front of Future April, beaming up at her. "Hi there! I'm-"

"Mikey," the older April cut in, smiling down at him before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Mikey froze as the woman held him but soon his hands crept up and hugged her back awkwardly.

"Hey!" a gruff voice suddenly shouted, alarming the older April as she let go of the younger, hyper-active turtle. Raph strode forward, glaring at the woman suspicisiouly. "What's your story, then?"

April placed her hand slightly over her mouth to hide a little laugh. _Straight to the point_, _as always_, _Raphael_. She shook her head slightly and then cleared her throat, "I know my appearance must be..." she glanced at her younger self, "startling," she decided, "but it's _me_, guys. A 46 year-old April O'Neil."

"That's impossible!" Leonardo said calmly, stepping beside Raph and folding his arms. "How can there be two of April?"

"Time travel," Mikey rolled his eyes, "Duh!"

"Sort of," April smiled at the orange-masked turtle before continuing, "I come from a future that's...a **lot** different to the world you live in," she was lead down to the sofa by the three turtles, who sat her down on one of the cushioned chairs. "I come from a time that will exist if the actions of others are unchanged."

"Unchanged?" Raph raised his eyebrow up. "How so?"

Older April bit her lip, could she explain to them? She had no idea where to start..."A future where the Shredder has complete control," this statement earned several gasps. "It's a world where we struggle to survive...it's also where your brother, Donatello, is trapped at this moment in time."

"Donnie?" Mikey's eyes were pleading as he gripped the cushion he had previously been sat on.

"You _can't_ be serious!" Raph's temper got the best of him. "You're saying that our brother is trapped in a world where Shred-head is trying to _kill_ everybody?!"

"Yes," April answered, her facial expression and tone deadly serious. "That's exactly where he is."

"No way," Raph shook his head fiercely, Leo placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before turning to the future April and giving her an apologetic look.

"I need your help," April suddenly stated, her tone almost pleading. "I need to return to my world as soon as possible; your brother is being hunted as we speak and there's honestly only so much that our Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael can do."

"Well, if there's older versions of April and the turtles," Casey interrupted, slouching in his seat. "Does that mean I'm there too?"

"Also, you _only_ mentioned myself, Raph and Mikey," Leo added. "What about older Donnie? Where is he?"

April inhaled the air around her sharply. She gave Casey a sad look, "Casey was...a good friend and a great warrior," she answered, turning to Raph. "Especially when Raphael needed him, vice versa."

Her nails dug into the soft sofa as she thought about answering Leo's question. She looked up at him, "Donatello...is dead, Leonardo. He died a long time ago."

"What?" everybody in the room exclaimed, the three turtles shouting the loudest.

"He's dead?" Mikey whimpered.

"What happened? **Why** is Donnie dead in the future?" Raph demanded, clenching his fists.

"The Shredder," older April whispered, hugging herself, old memories of herself and the other turtles that had arrived too late to save future Donnie's life haunting her once again.

Deciding that that small response was enough to make everybody grow worried and concerned, Leo and Raph dropped the questioning and turned to Casey and April who both looked extremely anxious.

"Leo," the younger April started. "We have to help her- I mean, older me. If we ever want to see Donnie again, we need to hurry!"

"I know that," Leo mumbled, looking at Raph and Mikey for their thoughts, feeling a little more confident when Mikey nodded and Raph gave a thumbs-up. "Okay, Future April," Leo grinned. "What do we have to do?"


	4. Chapter 4

"We're going to have to go straight to the Kraang," Future April told them, tilting her head in question. "The Kraang **are** here right?"

"Uh...Yeah?" Raph answered, looking puzzled himself at the question.

"Good, good," April sighed in relief. "So anyways, we go straight to TCRI and try to get into their databases and see if they have any known information on their portals to their different worlds."

"Then, if we find it?" Raph asked, liking the plan already as breaking into TCRI meant fighting Kraang..._Lots_ and lots of Kraang.

April smirked at Raph's enthusiam, "Then hopefully we'll find a way to reverse the portal, meaning I'll get sent back to my timeline and once I'm back there, I can reopen the portal for Donnie."

"Everybody, get ready now!" Leo ordered, smiling up at older April, "Give us all some time and then we're leaving right away!" he added before rushing off with Mikey and Raph.

"April," Splinter called quietly, stepping out of the training area and chuckling lightly as both younger April and older April looked up at him at the same time. "The older April," he said quickly before turning on his heel and heading back inside. "May I speak with you?"

* * *

Future April knelt inside of the training area, holding a small mug of green tea that Splinter had prepared for the two of them. He sipped his tea, glancing at April every now and again to study her body language.

"You are agitated, April," the wise teacher stated calmly, sipping his tea once more before setting it down in front of him. "Are you troubled about your world?"

"I'm _scared_, Master Splinter," she responded, looking at Splinter sadly before raising the mug to her lips. "I'm worried about my friends; some were in bad shape..." she didn't want to tell Splinter about what had happened to his son but if Donnie hadn't survived...She inhaled sharply and knotted her brows together. "Master, Donatello got...hurt," the last word was a mere whisper as she watched the calm rat's expression change slightly before he closed his eyes, sighing.

"Hurt? How, April? Are you able to explain?" Splinter's tone wavered a little as he spoke, April sensing his worry straight away.

"One of Shredder's mutants tried to attack Raphael," April answered slowly, watching Splinter very carefully before continuing; "Donatello stepped in front of Rahzar and took the hit for Raph and got injured badly. The portal opened up right after he got wounded and I was scared that the portal could take him to a different dimension...I came through it so that Donnie could have had the chance to live," she rearranged her seating position and brought her knees up to her chin. "I **swear** I had no idea that I'd come back to the past, Master. If I knew, I never would have jumped through. I'm sorry-"

Splinter held out his hand, a gesture for April to be silent as he smiled down at her proudly before placing one of his hands on her shoulder, "Do_ not_ apologise for trying to protect my son, April O'Neil," he said, his voice firm yet kind. "You were looking out for him and for that, I thank you."

"Master..." April buried her head in her knees, her heart feeling as if it were ripping apart once again. Why did fate have to be so cruel and send her back to the past? She made no effort to stop a few tears leak out of her eyes; her family were all safe, alive and _happy_. The playful and worry-free faces of everybody hurt her greatly, as she knew that the future would change each of them.

"I won't..." she lifted her head up defiantly and stared up at Splinter, not caring that her tears still stained her cheeks. Splinter blinked in confusion as she stood herself up and nodded slowly at him. "I **will** protect them," she promised, her voice clear and honest. "I refuse to let them lose their smiles."

_That's because...because I love them all._

* * *

**A/N: Hello everybody! Thank you for all of the support! ^^ &amp; Happy Guy Fawkes Night! :D:D **


	5. Chapter 5

"Mikey, I'm afraid those questions cannot' be answered," Older April stated for the third time as the young turtle threw a-hundred-questions-a-minute at her. Said-turtle huffed at her response but soon grinned up at her playfully.

"When we find a way to get you back to your world, we can send you some pizza to take back for older me and my brothers!" Mikey said excitedly. April noted that he had said "when" and not _"if"_ which gained another smile from her over Mikey's positive attitude.

"I'm sure the guys would love that, Mikey," April replied kindly, her voice soft as they continued their journey through the dark tunnels.

"Hey, April! **DO** I get a girlfriend in the future?!"

"She just said that she can't _answer_ anything you ask, moron," Raph grumbled, shoving Mikey roughly who then scowled back at him in annoyance.

"Guys, be quiet," Leo hissed, beginning to climb one of the ladders that lead to the surface. Older April covered her mouth and muffled a small laugh over Leonardo's bossy ways. _I've really missed this_, she thought to herself as they got to the top and found themselves stood in an alley.

"TCRI is this way," Leo instructed as the group headed up the metal ladders of the apartment fire-escapes. The turtles, Casey and two Aprils' ran over the rooftops, younger April falling behind alongside Casey while the future version seemed to be doing fine keeping up with the other three, which younger April sniffed at.

"What's up with you?" Casey panted as he ran beside April, who shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes focused on ahead of her.

"I want to know when I'm able to run over these rooftops without having to take a breather every five minutes," she grumbled, her throat beginning to burn as she forced herself to pick up the pace.

"You adapt!" Older April called, hearing every word her younger self had said, "Between running for your life and training; you get used to it, little me!"

"Run me through the plan again, Fearless," Raph barked as he leaped over one of the large satellite dishes attached to the brick walls of the buildings underneath them.

Leo sighed heavily, "We break into TCRI and find any information about the Kraang and how their dimensions work. If we get that information, we get our brother back."

"Sounds good to me!" Mikey yelled, jumping down a wall and rushing into the street that lead straight to the entrance of the large TCRI facility.

"We're here," Leo stated lowly, reaching behind his shell and unsheathing one of his katana blades. As soon as Leonardo did this, Raph pulled out his two sai and Mikey swung his nunchucks.

Future April reached for her tessen but thought about it for a second before dropping her hand and keeping the weapon tucked into her belt. She glanced over at younger April who was holding her tessen out while Casey stood holding one of his hockey sticks with his mask hiding his face.

To say that it was a challenge to get inside of TCRI would have been a lie as the entire entrance and ground floor was empty. "Guys..." Mikey whispered, ducking behind one of the artifical plant pots near the help desk. "I think there's nobody here..."

"Good call, captain obvious," Raphael muttered, shoving his sai back into his belt and stomping over to the desk where he discovered a note placed underneath a teddy-shaped paperweight.

_Kraang is at the time which is known as lunch break._

"Yeah..." Raph turned his head and gestured for the others to come forward. "They're at lunch."

"I never knew that they did that," Future April said, frowning as she looked around the area. She felt a small pain in her head and she whirled around to younger April who was holding her head in her two hands. "You feel it too, don't you," the older April mumbled as she gritted her teeth in discomfort. "Guys, we're not alone!"

"Kraang has detected the same thing which is known as DNA of the one who is known as April O'Neil," a Kraang droid suddenly announced, walking out from one of the doors and slamming the button that immediately locked all the entrances and exits of the facility.

"Oh _typical_," older April groaned, yanking her tessen out of her belt and unfolding it as she got into a fighting stance. "I get sent back to when the Kraang still need my DNA!"

Before any of the three turtles could move in to attack the droid armed with its advanced laser gun, April suddenly darted forward and dodged the beams that were shot at her. Quick as lightning, she threw out her arm and sliced the mechanical head off of the droid and then kicked the robot in the stomach, sending flying backward.

She glared at the now unmoving droid as she panted furiously before turning back and meeting all surprised looks from the others. She chuckled nervously and placed her weapon into her belt before smiling awkwardly at them.

"Can _you_ do that, Red?" Casey asked, leaning towards April's ear and nudging her as she stared open-mouthed at her older self. Younger April blinked before turning desperately to the three turtles and throwing her arms in the air, unable to think of the right thing to say.

"Let's get going," Future April ordered as she picked up the head of the robot and slammed it into the elevator scanner, allowing the doors to open. She put her foot against the doors as she threw the head of the droid into the elevator before waving her arms as a welcoming gesture for the others to follow her.

* * *

**A/N: Evening everybody ^^ Thank you for all the lovely comments! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**SwingsUponTheGround:** Oh wow, SAINW is such a great episode, very sad though ^^ &amp; As for the present turtles meeting the future turtles later on...

**Pilyarquitect:** Yes! :) Mikey asking random questions was really fun to write ahaha :)

**phoebegimenez7:** :D Thanks! And yes, poor Donnie :(

**Happysays96:** Aww, thank you so much! ^^

**mommasan:** Thanks! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! :D

**hopelessromantic4life:** Hehe, thank you ^^

* * *

Soft music played inside the elevator as the group headed straight for the higher floors, everybody had put their weapons away, except Raph, who had previous memories of TCRI.

"April and I have decided that we should split up," Leo announced, lifting his head up high and keeping his body posture straight. "Our April, Mikey and Raph will head toward the labs on the top two floors while Future April, Casey and I will take care of the other labs. If anything happens-"

"Yeah, yeah, we _know_," Raph rolled his eyes as the elevator doors opened revealing a long hallway with pure white walls and glowing purple designs on them. "If we get any problems, we'll call you on the T-phone."

"Make sure you do," Leo nodded sternly as Casey and Future April left the elevator, "We'll regroup outside TCRI?"

"Sure, now get _going_, Fearless!" Raph groaned, shoving Leo out of the doors. Mikey gave a thumbs up and younger April waved timidly as the doors shut, taking them up to the top of the facility.

Leo unsheathed one of his katana blades and then looked around before turning back to Casey and April. "Let's go, guys!"

* * *

Raph had a sudden uneasy feeling about Leo's plan for April, Mikey and himself as the elevator made a ringing sound and opened the doors. His "feeling" turned out to be quite understandable as several Kraang droids were stood waiting for them outside of the elevator doors, all aiming their enhanced weapons at them.

Raph desperately wanted to attack them, but with his brother and his friend also backed into a corner, he couldn't put them in danger. "Crud..." he sighed, dropping his sai to the ground and scowling at the robots, while April and Mikey glanced at each other nervously behind him.

* * *

As it turned out, Leo's team were also having a hard time. This was literally after Leo had lead them along the corridor where an alarm had been set off and they now found themselves currently running away from the Kraang droids while dodging their laser-beam bullets.

"Just a heads' up-" April jumped up in the air as a bullet almost hit her legs. "Leo!" she breathed out, glaring back at the Kraang robots in frustration. "If something happens to me or my younger self-" she dodged another bullet, "we'll **both** feel it!"

"I thought so!" Leo yelled, shoving Casey as several of the Kraang's guns were aiming at him. "Let's just hope that the others' are doing better than us!"

"This is so metal!" Casey yelled excitedly, swinging one of his hockey sticks and batting a Kraang droid away when it got to close to him.

"Jones, you are definitely Raph's best buddy!" April said as the trio ran into a small room and slammed the door shut, Casey sticking one of his smaller hockey sticks through the door handles to keep the Kraang from getting to them.

"Good news, guys," Casey looked around the tiny crammed room they were hidden in, "the Kraang failed epically at finding us."

"Hm," Leo mumbled, "I really hope that Raph, Mikey and April are alright up there..." his eyes drifted upwards at the small air-vent and he smirked. "We'll use that!" he announced, climbing on the objects inside the room and opening the vent.

Before April could climb up, she cried out and grabbed her arm, causing Leo to jump down and Casey to stand beside her in worry. Their expressions turned from concern to horror as a large deep burn wound suddenly began to spread on April's wrist as she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut in pain.

"She's been shot..." Future April whimpered, her eyes watering. "If she gets hurt, it happens to me too..."

* * *

**A/N: Watched the Dream Beavers episode earlier online and it was awesome; heavy metal turtles and "Shut up Dave" haha :D I don't know which episode I've liked most this season...Probably "The Croaking" ^^ Can't wait for the Speed Demon episode, though! Thank you! :D *hugs everybody* **


	7. Chapter 7

"They _shot_ her, Leo!" Raph cried from the other end of the T-Phone. His voice sounded thick and higher than usual, which Leonardo took as him trying hard not to burst into tears at one of their friend's becoming injured.

"We know!" Leo grunted, crawling through the airvent while Casey and April followed behind, where April had a temporary rag as a bandage tied over her burn. The material rubbed painfully against the wound but April kept quiet as they continued through the vents until they got to a large opening.

"Leo, they're about to take April! Get here **now**! Hurry or we'll-" the phone suddenly cut off and when Leo tried to call Raph back, the signal was completely dead.

"Raph, hang on!" Leo cried out, shaking the phone and feeling immense panic at the thought of the Kraang hurting his brothers or April. Leo slammed his leg into the gate, causing the metal latch to loosen and drop to the ground below, causing a loud crash-sound and alerting the Kraang to their whereabouts.

Casey, Leo and April and jumped down and stood, weapons out and ready to fight- only to find that they were stood in an empty lab. "Darn it," Leo groaned, sheathing his twin katana blades back into his harness and motioning for the two humans to follow him.

Casey was about to move forward and follow Future April as she ran after Leonardo. He quickly shifted over to one of the work tables and found several disc-drives and glowing USB sticks. He grabbed a handful and stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans and then left the lab, following the hallway that Leo and April had took.

* * *

April had her head bowed and clutched her injured arm tightly as she was forcibly pushed forward through the endless corridors by the Kraang droids. Raph and Mikey were following behind with two separate Kraang droids behind them with their guns aimed at the backs of their heads.

"What are they gonna' do, Raph?" Mikey asked his older brother, chuckling nervously as one of the droids looked straight at him as he spoke.

"I have no idea, Mikey," Raph huffed, tensing as April was shoved forward once more to pick up her pace. "I guess they're taking us to the..." he winced and quietened his tone of voice, "extraction area."

"Ah," Mikey glanced at April and chewed his lip nervously. "We can't let them _do_ that to her, Raph."

"We're not going to let them do it, Mikey. Also, remember we're mutants," he gritted his teeth angrily. "The Kraang experiment on them; like when they had SpyderBytez, Snakeweed-"

"Leatherhead..." Mikey added sadly.

"Yeah, bro..." Raph offered a sympathetic smile at his younger brother before looking up and seeing the droid shove April again. "Oh that's_** it**_!" he roared, charging forward with his twin sai already in his hands.

As Raph attacked the Kraang droids, Mikey shuffled over to April and quickly examined her burn, earning a concerned look from the turtle he gently pulled her wound into the light. "You should be okay, April," Mikey said, patting her uninjured arm gently. "Sensei has a lot of medical stuff; we'll make it better."

"I know, Mikey," April smiled at the young turtle kindly, despite the pain. Her smile faded as she watched Raphael continue to stab the Kraang droids repeatedly behind her. "We have to get out of here," she announced, grabbing Mikey's hand and pulling him down the hall before turning to call out to the red-masked turtle, "Raph! Let's go!"

"You're lucky that I need to go!" Raph sneered, kicking one of the robotic arms he had yanked off of one of the droids earlier before darting through the same pathway that Mikey and April ran.

* * *

As soon as Raph turned the corner, Leonardo's group arrived at the spot where the others had been literally moments ago. "Raph was here," Leo grinned, pushing one of the lifeless droids slightly with his katana.

Future April knelt down beside one of the robots and picked up one of the detached arms, studying it before tucking it into her belt. When she received confused (and slightly concerned) glances from both Leo and Casey, she simply laughed and patted the arm, "Might need it for getting out of here, guys."

* * *

**A/N: Ohmygosh two days to go until the Speed Demon episode :D ^^ As always, thanks for the kind feedback guys! I really appreciate it :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**TMNT fan stories:** Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story ^^

**Guest:** Yes! We'll see what's on those files very soon :'3

**hopelessromantic4life:** Haha! Agreed :D

* * *

While Future April messed around with trying to open the elevator using the robotic Kraang arm, Leonardo and Casey stood a short distance away as Casey reached into his pocket and showed Leo one of the USB sticks he had grabbed.

"Casey Jones did it again," he said smugly, waving the USB in front of Leo's face. "He showed you just how **awesome** he is!"

"Great job, Casey," Leo answered, relieved that the boy had taken several USB cables and disc drives from the previous lab; all they had to do was find Raph's group.

"Done it!" April cheered loudly as the elevator door squeaked open, allowing the three to venture inside and push the buttons that took them back to ground floor. She recalled one of the Kraang droids locking down the bottom floor's windows and doors but April knew that they'd find a way to get out; they always did.

* * *

"How ya' doing, April?" Mikey called, swinging his kusarigama chain and wrapping it around one of the Kraang robots that continued to fire their weapons at April, Raph and himself. He pulled the Kraang toward him and kicked the robot so hard in the neck that the head flew off and the little alien inside the stomach screeched and scurried off in fright.

"We're good, Mikey!" the younger April yelled, swinging her tessen forward and cutting the right-leg off of a robot Kraang that had previously tried to grab at her while Raphael happily tackled several Kraang in the distance, sending robotic parts flying up in the air and scattering around the entire area.

"I'd hate to ruin your fun, Raph!" Mikey yelled, punching another droid to keep it away from him before turning towards Raphael, "But we have to go, bro! Leo told us to wait outside TCRI!"

"Yeah," Raph huffed, stabbing one of the robots with his sai, "'cause he's a _wimp_! I'll take them all on; try and stop me!"

"We're_ leaving_," April ordered, beginning to climb up the glowing walls that lead to ceiling windows. She looked over her shoulder and glowered at Raphael while Mikey began to climb up behind her. "Now, Raph! Move it!"

"Ughh," Raph groaned, kicking several robotic parts aside as he jumped up and began to follow Mikey and April. He let out a quiet gasp as more Kraang droids began rushing into the room before reaching into his belt and throwing down one of the egg-shaped smoke bombs, filling the entire area with purple smoke.

There was a sudden sound of glass shattering before silence as the purple smoke began to clear, the Kraang were left standing in a room and the two turtles and the human girl, April O'Neil, had vanished.

"Kraang, the ones that were once in this place are no longer in the place which is known as here," one of the Kraang said before another droid turned its head.

"Kraang, you must do the thing which is known as 'shutting up'," the other droid replied.

* * *

The elevators slid open quietly and allowed Future April, Casey and Leo to file out where they stood in the reception area, which had previously had several Kraang attacking them but now, the complete area was empty and silent.

"You think it's a trap, Leo?" Casey asked, reaching behind his back and taking one of his wooden hockey sticks out and holding it, ready if anything tried to attack them again.

"I don't feel anything," April announced to the other two before walking over with the Kraang arm and pushing it against the lock that had been used to seal the room. She smiled when one of the door gates screeched as they began to lift from the outside, which enabled them to then kick the glass doors open and flee the building.

As soon as they got across the street, they all cheered and threw themselves down on the ground in relief, all starting suddenly as they heard the familiar sound of Michelangelo whooping loudly as he, Raph and April escaped the top of the facility via their grappling hooks.

"Great," Leo breathed, watching as the three figures soared above them toward a rooftop near them. "We're all okay, guys," he grinned at Casey and April before putting his arms around the two and leading them towards where the others had disappeared. "Mission accomplished."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This story isn't going to be as long as The Fated Future or the future third (and final) story :) I wanted this story to have a bit of development between the other turtles as it's essential to the final part ^^ As always everybody: Thank you for the support! You're all awesome! **

* * *

"You both are lucky that you got out of the facility when you did," Master Splinter stated softly as he finished wrapping younger April's wound and began to rub antiseptic cream into Future April's burn, making her wince a little. Splinter chuckled quietly as he picked up a separate bandage and began to wrap the injury, "I do apologise, April, but it'll help the wound to heal faster."

"I know, Master Splinter," Future April smiled, her eyes twitching as the wise sensei tightened the bandage and then clipped a pin through the bandages to keep them together. She bowed her head, "Thank you."

"You are most welcome," Splinter replied, nodding at the woman before turning to Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Casey. "You four are next."

"We're fine," Leo answered quickly, waving his hand and placing his other arm around Mikey, tightly gripping the orange masked turtle's shoulder. "See? Mikey and I didn't get a scratch...Did you...Raph...?" his voice got quieter as he noticed the stern look his father gave him and Mikey before he tilted his head and softened his gaze on Raphael.

"You seem to be having a little bit of trouble with your shoulder, Raphael," Splinter noted, glancing at the annoyed face of Raph as he continued to clutch his shoulder and keep his eyes locked on the wall in the dojo.

"It's fine," Raph grumbled, not turning to face Splinter, who raised his eyebrows in amusement at his second eldest son's stubbornness.

"It is not '_fine_'," Splinter said slowly, walking over and placing a hand on Raph's free shoulder and gently leading him toward the front of the tree where Splinter often meditated at. He sat the young turtle down and then knelt in front of him, placing his hands on Raph's hand and carefully pulling it away to inspect the injury.

"See?" Raph mumbled, looking away from the two long and deep-looking scratches that had dried blood covering the area around them. Splinter sighed and then stood himself up and headed out of the training area, walking into the kitchen and taking out the first aid kit that was kept in one of the cupboards. He held it tightly as he walked back into the training room and knelt in front of Raphael, opening the box and taking out a bottle of antiseptic fluid.

"S-Sensei..." Leo warned, knowing how painful it was to have the liquid antiseptic poured on a wound and also knowing how Raph would react to it.

"I know, my son," Splinter responded kindly, looking away when he noticed Raph's eyes widen at the bottle in worry. "I know what I'm doing, so please, everybody leave Raphael and I for the moment."

Splinter then looked up at them and took note of a jagged scratch down Casey's face. "Casey," Splinter sighed, checking the bandage and plaster situation in the first aid kit. "After Raphael, **you** are next."

"C-cool, see ya' soon, Raph," Casey stuttered, pretty much dashing out of the training arena as the others had already left. Casey didn't like to admit it but his fear of rats still sometimes affected him when he was alone with Master Splinter.

Future April sat herself down beside the younger April, who nodded her head awkwardly before looking away. Mikey soon appeared again carrying a tray of colourful mugs filled with hot tea, he paused when he heard a high pitched yelp from the training arena before shaking his head and placing the tray on the floor.

"Here you go, bro!" Mikey grinned, passing a blue mug of tea to Leonardo and then handing a grey mug to Casey, who was sat next to Leo. Younger April took a yellow mug from Mikey's hands so that he could turn his back and grab the two remaining mugs from the floor.

Mikey picked up a purple mug and handed it to Future April, forcing himself smile as he gave it to her. "Seeing as Donnie isn't here to drink my awesome tea..." Mikey's hands shook as he held his own bright orange mug. "You'll have to drink it _for_ him, older April."

"That's fine, Mikey," Future April replied softly before raising the mug to her lips and sipping the steaming tea. "Thank you, it's perfect."

"Hey, April," Mikey's voice came out as a whisper, a lump caught his throat as he was about to ask something that could impact them all in a negative way. When the older April met his eyes, he took a deep breath and continued shakily. "D-Did Donnie...Was he okay?"

After inhaling sharply, April met Mikey's eyes once more and hardened her expression. "Michelangelo, I'm going to be honest with you," she didn't care about the looks that she received from the others as she spoke.

"Before the portal opened and sent me here, Donatello got hurt. Really hurt," April didn't look up as she heard Leonardo stand up angrily. "The Shredder did something to anger Raphael...To anger all of us."

_Angel..._

"He fatally wounded a close friend of ours...A friend **especially** close to Raphael," April smiled at the thoughts of Angel and Raphael's bickering like a married couple. "Raph tried to attack Shredder and Rahzar stepped forward and tried to kill him..."

"April, _don't_ even-" Leo started, being cut off as April glared as she made her tone of voice louder so that everybody could hear her next words.

"Donatello took Rahzar's killing-blow for Raphael."

The words seemed to echo around the lair as Future April stared back at the horrified and saddened faces of Leo, Mikey, Casey and younger April. It hurt to tell them...But she had to; she had no idea on whether Donatello had survived or not...


	10. Chapter 10

"April."

Future April was stirred out of her inner thoughts as she looked up at the desperate eyes of Michelangelo. She blinked at him, as if waiting for him to speak up again.

When he finally did, she wished he hadn't; "Is Donnie dead?"

As soon as Mikey spoke those three words, the entire lair filled with silence. Even Casey and Raph, who appeared from the training area crept silently over to the sofa and waited for older April to deny this question. No...Waiting wasn't the right word; silently_ begging_ was more like it.

"Mikey..." Future April extended her hand toward the usually-bouncing turtle's shoulder but he stepped back and bit his lip before closing his eyes.

"We won't like the answer, will we, April?"

The serious and hurt tone of the happy-go-lucky turtle stunned April as soon as he spoke once more. She had no idea on what to say next, Leonardo shook his head and frowned at her before turning his back and marching toward the kitchen.

Mikey watched his older brother and seemed to have an inner battle inside his head before he scurried after Leo. Younger April stood herself up and dragged Casey into the kitchen after the two turtles while Raphael stood close to Future April, breathing heavily.

"Don't let it get to ya'," Raph muttered gruffly, turning his head away stubbornly. "They're just worried, that's all."

"Raph..." Future April squeezed her bandaged wrist and hissed as she felt a sharp sting from her healing wound. "I'm sorry. I couldn't lie to you all and tell you that everything was fine because if something bad has happened..." she inhaled sharply. "I'd never forgive myself if I lied to you all."

"I understand," Raph knelt down in front of April and gave her a confident wink as he positioned himself right in front of her, "even if the others' don't."

Before April could speak again, a strange sound began to fill the entire lair, alerting everybody that the sound was coming from Donatello's lab. "The Kraang communication orb!" Future April gasped, jumping off of the sofa and running as fast as she could into the lab. She stopped in front of the glowing sphere and went to place her hand on it before she stopped herself when she heard several footsteps enter behind her.

"I t-think," April's mouth trembled anxiously as she finally placed her hand on the orb. She cleared her throat and spoke again, "I think that the orb is responding..." her eyes widened as she dashed over to Donatello's computer and turned it on. "Casey!" she called, waving her hand for him to come over to her. He cautiously walked over with his eyebrows raised in question as she held out her hand to him before she sighed heavily. "Jones, please pass me one of the USB links!"

"Oh!" he blinked, reaching into his hoodie pocket and taking out one of the sticks and handing it to Future April before taking a few steps back to stand beside the three turtles, younger April and Master Splinter.

"Thanks," she said through gritted teeth as the USB connected to the computer and allowed her to open up all of the files of information that the Kraang has stored on the stick. She clicked through the numerous folders until she found a folder titled "Dimensions" and double clicked on it before scrolling through the documents.

"Dudes," Mikey piped up, poking his head out between Leonardo and Master Splinter. "Anybody know what's going on?"

"Not a clue, Mikey," younger April murmured, watching as her older-self cursed as she checked the documents and image-files on the computer.

"There!" Future April suddenly yelled triumphantly as she opened up a presentation-file and placed the document on full-screen to show everybody. As the group read through the information on how the Kraang portals worked, a sudden message appeared on the screen, startling everybody. Future April pressed the ESC key on the keyboard and then double clicked on the message to open it. Her face paled and her heart began to race in panic as the flashing words on the screen in front of everybody read;

**COME HOME APRIL**

* * *

**A/N: Soo, yeah :) This story is coming to an end probably the next chapter or the one after :'3 Thank you! **


	11. Chapter 11

"'**Come Home April**,' huh," Michelangelo leaned forward so that the LED screen hurt his eyes. He blinked hard and then turned to a pale-looking Future April. "What does that even mean?"

"I have no idea, Mikey," Future April whispered. "But I t-think the guys back home are trying to communicate with me," her eyes suddenly widened as she jumped off of her seat and began to pace around the lab.

"They must have traced the portal somehow...Unless," her eyebrows knotted together, "the Shredder is toying with me."

"Why would he send a message like that?" Raphael asked, his voice flat. "Why not something like, 'Argh! I will get you next time, April O'Neil' or something?"

"Dude, she comes from a totally _uncool_ future, I think Shred-Head would say something a lot more threatening and 'evil' than that," Mikey stated, shrugging his shoulders and giving Raph a sarcastic grin.

"Alright, point one; that's **W-A-Y** too cliche, even for Shredder," Future April smirked. "Point two; he can't hack; Stockman does all that stuff for him. Shredder's not really a technology person."

"So you're saying the message is coming from the future?" Leonardo asked doubtfully, glancing at the screen with the flashing message.

"If Donatello could call you from the future, Leo, I'd say it's possible to send an email as well."

"Fair point. What do we do now?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," Future April explained, walking over to the orb and watching the patterns on the sphere glow. "From what we gathered on the Kraang data systems, I think this orb responded to it opening from the future, which was why your Donatello was pulled through."

"But why Donnie?" Raph asked, looking over at at Master Splinter. "Sensei told us earlier that it may have needed Donnie. Who was the one that opened the portal the first time?"

"The Shredder," Future April suddenly gasped out, her heart beating fast in panic. She steadied herself by grabbing the corner of one of the work-tables before clearing her throat, "_He_ must have been the one to have opened it. He stole our communication orb from the lair a while ago so something must have gone wrong during the transportation, otherwise Donatello would have landed in front of Shredder," her expression hardened. "That would have been very, **_very_** bad."

"Does Donnie dying have something to do with it?" Younger April spoke up, startling everybody with the almost-angry tone of her voice. She glared at her older self and folded her arms, waiting for an answer.

"I think it might," Future April answered sadly. "Shredder must have tried to take your Donatello from this universe, believing he knew the secrets that our Donatello knew."

"Secrets?" Master Splinter tightened his grip on his staff. "What secrets, Miss O'Neil?"

"Portals," Future April admitted, her voice cracking. "Shredder wanted to conquer the dimensions after we got rid of the Kraang. Donatello was the only person who knew how to open them, seeing as he was the one who shut them all down."

"Sensei, we need to get Donnie back _now_!" Leo said anxiously.

"That's right!" Raph added angrily, clenching his hands into tight fists. "We can't let tin-face hurt our brother!"

"All well and good with the tough talk guys," Casey called, raising his eyebrows up at the three brothers, "but how are you supposed to stop the Shredder when you're here and Donnie's in the future?"

"Did you _not_ hear what April just said, Jones?!"

"I can go back," Future April announced quickly before an argument started. She had realised what she had to do in order to return to her world, though she originally didn't want to say anything so fast. "I think I know how to do this. I need to go back to where I landed with the Kraang orb, here. I've touched it so it'll react in my universe too and send me back to where I was before I left."

"Then you can help Donnie?" Mikey asked happily, smiling even more when Future April nodded in response. "Then let's **go**, dudes!"

* * *

The walk back to her previous arrival seemed to go too fast for Future April's liking, even though she was happy that everybody had accompanied her back through the streets to where she had first appeared, April knew that she'd never see the happy faces of her beloved loved-ones in the future. She bit her lip and shakily handed the orb to Casey as she took several steps back in front of the now-newly replaced glass window that she'd previous broken. She removed the now-tattered and frayed cape from her shoulders and folded it outside of the doors of the shop before smiling boldly at the others.

"Before I go," Future April announced, keeping her voice steady and clear to hide the tears that threatened to leak from her eyes. "I just want to say to all of you...Stay safe and be there for each other," a tear slid down her cheek which was wiped away quickly before she turned to Leonardo. "Leo, be careful when fighting enemies and watch out for_ facial_-blows."

Future April turned to Raphael and Michelangelo, "Mikey, keep being your fun, happy-go-lucky self. As for you, Raph," she chuckled. "I know Mikey's question about girlfriends' bothered you earlier but don't worry; in the future, you meet a girl who's **crazy** about you, though she'd never admit it," these words earned a surprised look from everybody, especially Raph who began to blush violently.

"Casey!" Future April called, grinning at him before giving him a 'thumbs-up'. "While out protecting the city, stay safe and stay _clear _of bad habits, you hear me?"

"Master Splinter," her expression softened as she ducked her head at him. "Thank you for teaching me so much, please take care of yourself."

"Little me," April turned to face her younger self and walked over, bending down and placing her hands on younger April's shoulder. "You've got good friends, April. Cherish them and always believe in your abilities."

Before younger April could reply, Future April stepped back and gave a confident smile as Casey held out the orb in her direction. A strong wind began to appear from out of nowhere as the familiar bright purple triangular portal appeared and began to increase in size. "See ya' around guys," Future April called, turning on her heel and walking towards the portal. As soon as she stepped into it, she felt a heavy weight on her back and the last thing she heard was Master Splinter screaming;

"**Leonardo! Raphael! Michelangelo!**"

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand there we are :'3 This story is over and now it's time to finish Chapter One of the final story. I've decided to call it: Refine Destiny and you can probably guess what it's going to be about XD Thanks for all the support with this story, everybody! *huge hugs to everybody* **


End file.
